Volunteer Clearances

Clearances Required for Volunteers: If you plan to volunteer with children in any capacity at Saints Peter and Paul Parish and School, you need to have Safe Environment clearances in place. If you are not sure if your clearances have expired, you may contact Barbara McCarron, Safe Environment Coordinator for the School, at 610.696.1000 to check the status.

In Saints Peter and Paul Parish and School community, volunteers who have any contact with children are required to submit all state and federal clearances (items 1-3 below) to begin volunteering. Volunteers are then required to complete the Safe Environment Training, Parts I and II (listed below: items 4-5)and complete the Mandated Reporter Form (if needed item #6 ) within 90 days of beginning their volunteer work.

3a. If you have been living in PA for fewer than ten (10) continuous years, this is the clearance you must obtain:

Federal Bureau of Investigation Fingerprint Clearance (valid for 5 years). Visit www.pa.cogentid.com and click on Department of Human Services to register for the Background Check. After this, you are given a receipt to take to a fingerprinting location so you can then get the actual fingerprints completed. Locations and further instructions for the fingerprinting process are listed on the website.

3b. If you have been living in PA continuously for ten (10) years, this is the form you must sign:

4. Safe Environment Training Part I: Protecting God’s Children (instructor-led): is offered regularly at sites throughout the Archdiocese. The training provides basic facts about child sexual abuse and adults’ roles in prevention, and since 2011, a Technology Addendum is included in this training as well. Click here to ‘Start Registration’ and select a date. If you have already done this session, you do not have to repeat this training. If you completed this classroom training prior to 2011, you will have to complete the Technology Addendum separately.

Please note: At the completion of this session, you will be issued a certificate confirming training in the Standards of Ministerial Behavior and the Technology Addendum. You must provide this certificate to the Safe Environment Coordinator.

5. Safe Environment Training Part II: The Mandatory Reporting of Suspected Child Abuse: is available online at the Archdiocesan Training Institute. This training provides an overview of Archdiocesan reporting procedures for suspected child abuse and Pennsylvania Child Welfare Laws. The training should take you approximately one hour to complete. Click Here to Register. Please note: This is new as of 2015.

6. Mandated Reporter Acknowledgement Form: Click Here to Download. Please note: There were updates made by the state to the Mandated Reporting requirements in 2015, therefore anyone who took the class prior to 2015 needs to review the changes and sign this form and send it to the Safe Environment Coordinator.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions please contact Barbara McCarron, School Safe Environment Coordinator, 610.696.1000